This proposal is to establish a Diabetes Center of the National Institutes of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania. The Center has as its major research objective a multidisciplinary investigaton of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and its complications with a long-term goal of developing and evaluating new therapeutic approaches to the management of the major unsolved clinical problems in this area. The University of Pennsylvania has in progress substantial research programs in its basic and clinical departments that are related to diabetes mellitus. The establishment of the Center will (1) facilitate and encourage the development of new interdisciplinary research programs and the involvement of established investigators who have not previously applied their expertise to relevant problems in the area of diabetes mellitus; (2) encourage the development of younger faculty members actively engaged in research related to diabetes in both the basic and clinical sciences; (3) provide a means for the recruitment of new investigators to fill specific deficits identified in the overall research program; (4) provide coordination and plannning of interdisciplinary training in research and clinical areas related to diabetes; (5) provide core support for the Diabetes Center's programs through core facilities; (6) provide an efficient mechanism for the development and evaluation of new research initiatives and for the provision of expert consultative assistance; (7) provide a means for the dissemination of new information gained through the Center's activities; and (8) facilitate the exploration of the possible clinical applications of this new information.